Vertebrates show dramatic interspecific variation in the size of their brains. The complexity of brains is considered to be the key factor of evolutionary success in Vertebrates, and therefore an evolutionary trend towards increasing brain size and coplexity is assumed. Large and complex brains evolved independently in birds and mammals. Birds have brains that are comparable in their relative size to the brains of mammals. However, in stark contrast to mammals, there is no general trend towards increase of brain size in birds. Relatively large brains have evolved independently in many avian lineages. Highly encephalised orders are parrots (Psittaciformes), woodpeckers and relatives (Piciformes), hornbills, hoopoe and wood hoopoes (Bucerotiformes), owls (Strigiformes), storks (Ciconiiformes) and several families of songbirds (Passeriformes), mainly bowerbirds (Ptilorhynchidae) and corvids (Corvidae). Otherhighlyencephalizedgroupsarenon-parasiticcuckoos(genusCentropus,Phaenicophaeus and Coua) and family Diomeidea and genus Pelecanus belonging to the clade water birds. Less encephalized groups include the basal lineages such as paleognaths and fowl (Galloanserae), and also pigeons (Columbiformes) and swifts, treeswifts and hummingbirds (Apodiformes). We suggest that this mosaic evolution is result of...

This diploma thesis is a part of the GAJU project entitled "Coordinated rehabilitation of patients with brain injury (reg. number GAJU 128/2016/S)". At the time when the thesis was elaborated, only the patients who suffered the cerebrovascular accident were engaged in the project, since in the hospital, no suitable patient after brain injury who would need a multidisciplinary team in home care had ever been sought. The selection of the patients was based on the communicative skills criteria e.g. if the skills to participate in the directed conversation based on the Functional Independence Measure Questionnaire (FIM), WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 and the follow-up questions concerning social issues, physiotherapeutic methods and techniques were preserved. Within the framework of the project, the research has not been finished yet. Given the above mentioned reasons, this thesis is therefore mainly focused on the identification of patients' needs after the cerebrovascular accident (CVA), on the period starting from its first incidence during the first three months period after the discharge from the hospital to home care. The complex results will be presented as a part of the publication activity of the project. The thesis comprises a theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical part presents a comprehensive view on the care for the patients who suffered the cerebrovascular accident. I addressed both the basic characteristics of the cerebrovascular accident and the organisation of the care for the patients in the Czech Republic; furthermore, the coordinated rehabilitation team, the role of a social worker, possibilities of social help provided by the welfare system to patients and their families, and the psychical condition of the patient. In the last chapter, I outline the general concept of human needs according to A. Maslow and describe important needs of the sick people. As far as the research part is concerned, my goal is to identify the needs of patients in home care after the brain injury. In connection with the aim of the thesis, two research questions were defined. The first question is: "What are the needs of the patients after brain injury?". The second question is: "What is the role of a social worker in meeting the needs of a patient with brain injury?" The qualitative research strategy was used; the instructional dialogue technique with patients after brain injury in the South Bohemia Region within the project. When analyzing the data collected from the patients during the first three months after the discharge from the hospital to the home care, seven major patient needs emerged need of help, need of psychical equilibrium, need of self-reliance, need of being without paint, need of recovering to the condition before CVA incidence, and need of establishing a new system of activities. Two of these needs, the need of recovering to the condition before CVA incidence and the need of establishing a new system of activities could be considered as principal, because the other needs are in general heading towards them. Furthermore, the analysis of the results showed the role of a social worker by means of which these needs can be saturated The results of the present thesis are used as a partial part from which the complex results of coordinated rehabilitation of patients after brain injury of the GAJU project are complied. The needs analysis of patients brought the proposals of dealing with/saturation of these needs and therefore had a direct impact on the lives of the respondents. The results of the research will become a part of the publication outputs of the above-mentioned projects.

The thesis is a part of the project called Coordinated rehabilitation of the patients with the brain injury (reg. n. GAJU 138/20146/S). The objective of this work is to find out what needs the families of patients with the brain injury have. This thesis has a theoretical and a practical part. According to research set consisting of 14 caregivers of patients after cerebrovascular accident and only one that cares about a patient after cranial trauma, the theoretical part describes a CMP characteristic, coordinated rehabilitation, the basic terms about family and the chosen concepts of needs. Based on the objective of the thesis, the research question was stated: What are the needs of family members who care about the patients with the brain injury in the home environment? The research was made by the qualitative strategy and the semi-structured interviews with the family members in South Bohemia region who cares about the people with the brain injury in the home environment. It was important that people with the brain injury have already been joined to the project. The interviews were done in the application called Atlas.ti. According to the analysis of the collected data, there are 9 main needs that are connected to each other. Concretely, it is a need of a care about the patient, about the house, the need of a family help, the need of professional and social services, economic security and quicker help by the social service, furthermore the need of free time, psychological well-being and being in touch with the society. The results of this thesis are a part of the complex results of the project GAJU called Coordinated rehabilitation of patients with the brain injury (ref. n. GAJU 138/20146/S). The analysis of the needs of family members was used to propose the solutions/saturation of the needs in order to influence the real life of interviewers.

The thesis is focused on the social work with people after brain damage and is part of the GAJU project called "Coordinated Rehabilitation of Patients after Brain Damage (Reg. No. GAJU 138/2016 / S)". Collaboration with social workers from the region of České Budějovice was part of this thesis. Their work also consists of working with people after brain damage. The purpose of the collaboration was to map out follow-up services after hospitalization of people after brain damage. Information about these organizations has been shared with the patients who were included in the GAJU project. The complex results of the project will be elaborated within the publishing activities. The diploma thesis is divided into two parts. The first - the theoretical part - is focused on the basic description of brain damage, there is more about the cerebral stroke, the coordinated rehabilitation team, the role of the social worker. There is also described the burden that the social worker as a person in the helping profession may face and burnout syndrome as a possible consequence of this burden. In the research part, the main objective was to find out what positives and negatives the social workers perceive in working with people after brain damage. This objective was completed through interviews with the social workers situated in České Budějovice. We can fully understand the extend of the social workers' work with people after brain damage thanks to the interviews. In connection with the goal, research questions have been identified: What are the positive and negative aspects of social work related to work with patient after brain damage according to the subjective opinion of a social worker? Another one: What influences the perception of positives and negatives which the social workers experience during their work? A qualitative research strategy was used, a technique of interviewing with use of instructions was chosen for the interviews with fourteen social workers of the organizations, whose target group also includes people after brain damage. Data was processed in Atlas.ti 7. The administration which is more and more demanding due to the legislation. That results in less time with client and more time with paperwork. Finance which is related to the funding of services, lack of resources for employee remuneration and the financial difficulty for clients. Lack of qualified staff, time consuming activities that are closely tied to the extensive administration and the fact that social workers often work beyond their job responsibilities and competencies. Non-cooperation of a client's family or lack of interest of family on the client, there is also the legislation, which is often in contradiction with practice according to interviews. The social workers have to follow the actual amendments of the law and that is time-consuming and exhausting, absence of follow-up organizations for patients after brain damage, lack of competencies/authority/information of social workers, insufficient motivation, lack of financial remuneration or lack of benefits for employees, conflicts with authorities, barriers that may occur during work of a social worker or insufficient resources. The analysis also reveals that social workers subjectively perceive these positives during their work with patients after brain damage: client satisfaction, helping people, the good feeling after job well done, positive feedback, fulfilling job, positive in relation to the work environment. The results of the thesis show that the positive aspects dominates over the negative ones. Work in a multidisciplinary team has been perceived positively amongst the social workers and beneficial for the clients and for the team. This work will serve as a sub-part for the elaboration of complex outcomes of coordinated rehabilitation of patients after brain damage from the GAJU project. Research results will become part of the publication outputs from the above-mentioned project.

OF DIPLOMA THESIS Author: Bc. Lenka Macková Supervisor: Mgr. Olga Marková Title: Evaluation of quality of life in patients with brain acquaired brain injury from the perspective of occupational therapy Abstract: Acquired brain injury is one of the most common causes of a reducing quality of life. The concept of quality of life is defined differently in different areas and there is no uniform definition. The theoretical part introduces the operationalization and conceptualization of concept of the quality of life and the use of evaluation of quality of life in occupational therapy in the Czech Republic and abroad. The aim of diploma thesis is to describe how acquired brain injury affects the quality of life, how to evaluate the quality of life in occupational therapy, and what quality of life areas are influenced after acquired brain injury and to evaluate subjectively the impact of occupational interventions on quality of life in these patients. The practical part contains 6 case studies of patients after acquired brain injury. Patients were assessed for quality of life through a WHODAS 2 subjective quality of life questionnaire and semi-structured interviews.This assessment was carried out before and after occupational intervention in patients after 2 months. The interviews and the results of the...

The thesis deals with the issue of executive functions in patients with acquired brain injury and possibilies of executive deficit detection in real life circumstances. The thesis is divided into theoretical and empirical part.The theoretical part consists of three chapters. In the first chapterthe definition, localization and different disorders of executive functions are mentioned. The second chapter presents some neuropsychological methods suitable for executive functions assessment and their limits. In the final chapter the Multiple Errands Test method and its various modifications are introduced. The main purpose of the empirical part was to evaluate the ability of the Multiple Errands Test method - hospital version (MET - HV) to detect deficits in executive functions related to daily life functioning. The research group consisted of patients with acquired brain injury (N = 20) and neurologically healthy adults (N = 20) hospitalized in the Rehabilitation Center Kladruby. The results proved the ability of the method MET - HV to distinguish well between patients with acquired brain damage and healthy adults. The second hypothesis concerning the ability of the method to distinguish between patients with frontal and nonfrontal injury wasn't confirmed. Another purpose of the empirical part was to...

This thesis deals with speech therapy for people with acquired brain injury. The theoretical part consists of three chapters that acquaint readers with the theoretical framework necessary to understand the range of problems examined. It approximates the issue of origin and effects of this disease and refers to attitude in therapy that can be realized to people with this impairment. The research part of the work puts a goal to analyze the possibilities of speech therapy of selected persons with aphasia. The resulting data agree on the fact that for effective speech therapy is necessary on the one hand an individual approach but also motivation of patient is very important. The thesis also includes creating a custom set of exercises which has confirmed the effectivness of the development of cognitive functions in persons with aphasia. The empirical part is based on the qualitative research which was realized by techniques of participant observing, interviewing, questionnaire survey, analysing progress and outcomes of activities, documentation and literature.

This Master's thesis focuses on Occupational therapy for patients after application of botulinum toxin to upper limb. The aim of the thesis was to evaluate and compare a progress of functional independence in patients after acquired brain injury. There were twenty patients involved in the research, who were further divided into two groups and separated by ten people in each group. Both groups underwent the application of botulinum toxin whereas the experimental group A went through the occupational therapy. The control group had ordinary rehabilitation at home and without any occupational intervention for the duration of twelve week under guided self-rehabilitation contract of spastic paresis, so-called GSC. A programme of the group A included over the counter rehabilitation outpatient occupational therapy. The patients attended the course twice a week for the duration of four weeks. Afterwards, they received a home programme for the duration of eight weeks, during which they had two examinations at occupational therapy. All the participants were evaluated by Global Subjective Self-Assessment which is focused on spasticity. There were further evaluated according to Functional Independece Measure and modified Frenchay Arm Test. The experimental group with outpatient occupational therapy was...

Epileptic disease is connected with change in activity of neuronal clusters. Brain connectivity analysis deals with statistic interdependencies between different neuronal centres. Earlier studies show that changes in connectivity can be seen near primary epileptic site. What is changing connectivity and its characteristic in interictal recordings are yet to be fully known. In this thesis are analyzed data from intracranial EEG electrodes, positioned in and neighboring areas of epileptic site. Changes in connectivity of epileptic site and its surroundings are observed by nonlinear correlation method. Decrease in connectivity of epileptic site during slow wave sleep was detected on frequencies above 80 Hz. Reduced connectivity was measured on the border of epileptic zone and normal tissue. Observed features are accentuated during sleep. It was also found out that connectivity at the border of epileptic zone apears to have nonlinear property. The results show that physiological processes during sleep are influencing connectivity near epileptic site and decrease in connectivity may be related to nonlinear dependence of neuronal activity at the border of epileptic zone. This study confirms hypothesis of the earlier studies and reveals new facts about connectivity of epileptic site from the perspective of nonlinear processes. Consequent study based on this findings might lead to more precise delineation of epileptic site and to better understanding of processes, which are causing epileptic fits.

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